Sweet Potato Purée with Streusel Topping

Rick Rodgers

Epicurious
November 2007

4/4

reviews (42)

95%

make it again

Photo by Stephen Sullivan; food and prop styling: Roscoe Betsill

Here's a sweet potato casserole that will please everyone in the family, but isn't sticky or cloying. If your guests insist on a traditional marshmallow topping (let's admit that kids love it, and for some adults, it just isn't Thanksgiving without it), see the variation below.

Halve potatoes lengthwise and scoop out flesh into large bowl. Add remaining 1/3 cup brown sugar and 3/4 stick butter and mash with potato masher or, for a smoother purée, handheld electric mixer. Spread mixture in prepared dish and cool completely. (Streusel and purée can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated, separately, covered.)

Sprinkle streusel over potatoes. Bake until golden brown, about 40 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. (Completed dish can be prepared up to 1 day ahead and refrigerated, covered. Remove from refrigerator 1 hour before reheating and let come to room temperature. Bake, loosely covered with foil, until heated through, about 25 minutes.)

Test-Kitchen Tips:
Most American cooks use the terms "sweet potato" and "yam" interchangeably, but there are actually three different types of vegetable referred to by these terms: The true sweet potato (also known as a boniato), available at Asian and Latino markets, has pale yellow flesh, skin with a purplish cast, and a chestnutlike flavor that isn't sweet at all. The true yam, also called a ñame (NYAH-meh), is a large tuber with scaly brown skin that's a staple of Caribbean, African, and Hispanic cuisines. The familiar, bright-orange-fleshed tubers called for in this recipe are a third type, a variety of the sweet potato that are often called "yams" to distinguish them from yellow-fleshed "true" sweet potatoes. The Louisiana, jewel, or garnet varieties will all work well.
While some recipes for sweet potato purée call for boiling the potatoes, roasting gives a much sweeter, more concentrated flavor and drier texture.

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Recent Review

This recipe got RAVE reviews -- it was fantastic! Not only is the recipe easy, but you can easily prepare this ahead of time and assemble it easily and pop in the oven, even in the midst of the craziness of carving the turkey! No modifications needed with the exception that I needed to add more flour for the streusel to get it to crumble properly, This will definitely become a staple for my future Thanksgivings!